Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 521, Assassination of Mai-sama!
Earlier that day, the sun was setting.

While a banquet was being held at the Akasaka Imperial Villa, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, at a top-tier office building comparable to the Tokyo Skytree observation deck...

The afterglow of the setting sun, like molten gold, spilled onto the firm's huge floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the interior's expensive walnut furniture and Xuan paper screens a warm border.

The Kanto Shrine Alliance meeting had just ended. The two rows of shrine representatives and council members of the Kanto Shrine Alliance bowed to the head priest, Mai Shirakawa, with polite but slightly distant smiles on their faces.

"Chief Shirakawa, the alliance's public image will depend on you greatly." The elder at the head spoke respectfully, but a hint of barely perceptible fear lurked deep in his eyes.

A few years ago, when Mai Shirakawa announced that her mentor would no longer serve as the head of the household due to personal reasons and that she would take over, there were still some dissatisfactions.

She's gone now, and people are even a little afraid of her.

"Thank you for your hard work." Mai Shirakawa bowed slightly and returned the perfect smile befitting a "national actress": "You flatter me, it's just my duty."

Today, she wore a perfectly tailored light gray suit skirt, which was both professional enough for a business occasion and exuded an unapproachable elegance due to her cool and aloof temperament. Her smooth black hair was tied back, revealing her smooth forehead and slender neck, making her look like a swan. The suit skirt was extremely elegant, perfectly highlighting her professionalism and intellect. Her legs, encased in ultra-thin Wolford gray matte 20D pantyhose, were brought together under the table, and her beautiful gray silk feet were adorned with matching bright red pointed-toe suede high heels, understated yet luxurious.

The figures of numerous shrine representatives and board members disappeared at the elevator entrance, and the assistant went to arrange the vehicles. In an instant, she was left alone in the huge space.

The formulaic smile faded like the tide, and her face returned to calm. Her eyes were no longer the star-studded eyes of an idol in front of the camera, but had returned to the deep pools of a shrine maiden, insightful and profound.

She walked slowly to the window, looking down at the towering buildings of Tokyo, their lights just coming on, her face grim.

Today was supposed to be the day my junior was coming to see me, but what kind of trouble did the Metropolitan Police Department cause this time? They temporarily sent him to the Imperial Palace and kept it a secret, so my wonderful day was ruined again!
So annoying!

Mai-senpai sighed softly. After finishing a bunch of things, she naturally wanted to arrange a sumptuous meal for dinner, then have some "exercise" with Uesugi Muneyuki, then use training as an excuse to "beat him up" a few times, then have some more "exercise," then the two of them take a bath together, and then have some more "exercise."

Now it's all gone!
The light of the setting sun burned in her eyes, yet brought no warmth whatsoever. A subtle, non-physical sense of unease, like underwater weeds, gently entwined her senses.

It wasn't murderous intent, but something far more sinister—"the aura of the inner world!"

Without warning—

"Buzz!"

A bullet wrapped in ominous black runes did not come from an ordinary angle, but rather from the shadows of the opposite building's rooftop, tracing a strange arc before accurately striking the bulletproof glass in front of her!
"Bang—!"

The deafening roar shook the space, but the glass did not shatter into pieces. Instead, a spiderweb-like network of cracks spread out from the point where the bullet hit, with arcs of purplish-black evil energy flashing across the cracks. Clearly, it was not an ordinary weapon, but a "demon-slaying bullet" specifically designed to destroy defensive barriers!
Almost a split second before the sound of the bullet whizzing through the air, Mai Shirakawa's body reacted. It wasn't based on hearing, but on a honed, intuitive sense of danger. Her gray silk toes lightly touched the carpet, and her figure, like a willow leaf swaying in the wind, gracefully and swiftly floated backward.

The hem of the suit jacket was torn open by the sharp wind of the arrow, revealing a bright red blouse underneath. The red stood out starkly against the gray suit, like magma surging beneath a calm sea.

Mai-senpai steadied herself, leaning against a solid support pillar. Her gaze swept across the source of the attack with lightning speed, her eyes sharp as knives. She was no longer the stunningly beautiful national actress from before, but had transformed back into the head of the Kanto Shrine Alliance!

"One, in the shadow of the scaffolding on the roof of the building across the street, the spiritual energy fluctuations were obscure and carried a sense of heaviness."

"Secondly, at the left-hand safety exit, there is a faint sound of wind, and the atmosphere of the inner world is swift and sharp."

"Thirdly, the air conditioning vent on the right rear is emanating a dark, damp power."

“Three…no, four.” She instantly understood: “The energy properties of the inner worlds are different; this is a carefully coordinated action team. Is this a probe, or an assassination?”

The enemy's attacks became increasingly intense, with bullets imbued with the power of the underworld continuously firing. Black smoke from the explosions began to billow, and the pungent smell of sulfur mingled with the stench of curses. Mai Shirakawa's figure weaved through the gaps in the smoke and explosions, seemingly in peril, yet each step precisely treading the line between life and death.

She placed her right hand behind her back, her fingertips moving quickly and subtly in the air. A barely perceptible stream of pure spiritual energy, like a thread, silently seeped into the structure of the building beneath her feet.

She is sensing and planning.

The alarm sounded, but the rescue wasn't quick enough. Even if it were quick enough, what could a security guard with only a stun gun do against an enemy armed with guns?

"almost."

She muttered to herself, her voice cold and clear, revealing no trace of panic. It was time to let these ants who coveted the power of the divine realm witness what a true chief priestess was!
She abruptly stopped dodging, standing still at the end of the corridor, in front of the huge, cracked French window. The last rays of the setting sun shone through the spiderweb-like cracks, casting bizarre patterns of light and shadow on her. She slowly turned around, facing the direction where the attacker was hiding, and formed an ancient and mysterious hand seal in front of her chest.

The aura around him changed instantly; the gentle spiritual energy became as cold as a harsh winter.

“‘Butterfly’” As she murmured, several white talismans cut into human shapes and hidden between her fingers moved without wind, emitting a faint spiritual light.

The counterattack has officially begun!
The moment the hand seals were completed, the last trace of "mortal" emotion in Shirakawa Mai's eyes vanished completely, replaced by the solemnity and compassion of a deity in the main hall of the shrine—a condescending compassion for the end of life.

She took two running steps forward, her high heels shattering the floor tiles. Her body was like a moth drawn to a flame, or a crane breaking free from the shackles of the world, as she resolutely crashed into the huge, cracked French window!
"Boom——!"

The tempered glass shattered completely, turning into countless sparkling fragments that scattered around her, refracting countless rays of light in the setting sun, as if draping her in a feathered robe woven from diamonds and the glow of the sunset.

She leaped out of the building, finding herself 200 meters above Tokyo, with tiny cars and buildings below her. A gust of wind instantly whipped up her hair and the hem of her clothes!
Suspended in mid-air with nowhere to grab onto, it was the stage that belonged to the senior student!

With a flick of her left hand, three white talismans held between her fingers shot out. The talismans spontaneously combusted in mid-air, transforming into three hawksbill doves burning with pure spiritual fire. They emitted clear, sharp cries, their trajectories tracing graceful arcs, bypassing the shards of glass flying through the air, and precisely burrowing into three different corners inside the building. This was followed by three short, agonizing screams, and the sizzling sound of cold water being poured into hot oil as the curse was purified. One enemy was instantly engulfed by the spiritual fire, screaming as he turned to ashes.

At the same time, she pulled a seemingly decorative red braided rope from the inside pocket of her suit with her right hand. In a flash of red light, the rope instantly extended, transforming into a divine shimenawa (sacred rope), which, like a serpent emerging from its hole, wrapped around the neck of a curse master who was attempting to leap from the side balcony and launch a sneak attack with a knife.

With a slight flick of her wrist, Mai's runes on the shrine rope lit up. Before the man could even cry out, his neck was snapped by the powerful spiritual force, and his body was flung aside like a puppet with broken strings, splattering a layer of tomato sauce on the rooftop wall!

Finally, facing the gun-wielding enemy who had initially fired the anti-magic bullet and was hiding deep within the scaffolding of the building across the street, Mai Shirakawa pulled her hands out of the air!
The immense spiritual energy instantly condensed into a translucent longbow shimmering with light, and a demon-piercing arrow, composed purely of light, automatically nocked onto the bowstring. Her body rotated slightly as she fell, using her waist to execute a graceful, ancient "drawing the bow and shooting back" pose.

The moment the bowstring was released, the light arrow did not fly in a straight line, but drew an incredibly exaggerated spiral trajectory that illuminated the twilight sky. Like a homing missile, it bypassed all obstacles and, with a "poof," pierced through the sniper's forehead and exited through the back of his head!
As she completed this series of movements, Mai-senpai's falling figure seemed weightless. The tips of her bright red suede high heels lightly touched the railing of the balcony of the opposite building, and her gray silk toes twisted and rotated half a turn before she landed silently on the rooftop like a feather.

The senior student's posture was elegant and composed, and even her breathing remained undisturbed.

Then Mai casually fired a spirit ball at a certain location on the top floor. The explosive spirit ball made a turn in the air and accurately bypassed the pillar and the chimney, piercing through the last being of the inner world hiding behind the chimney!

Lingwan slammed him against the wall behind him, and the man disguised as a construction worker froze in extreme fear.

The threat seemed to have been completely eliminated. The last rays of the setting sun swept across the balcony and also shone on the corpse that had been shot by the spirit bow not far away.

Battle over, 0 for 4, no casualties.

Mai-senpai seemed to only begin to investigate what had happened after confirming that she could no longer sense the existence of any other alternate worlds nearby.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, lifting the clothes on the back of the corpse.

Ok?
Behind the corpse was a white talisman with characters written in cinnabar, the ink penetrating the paper.

"To the First Shrine Maiden of Shirakawa, long time no see, I extend my respects. The 'business' of Kansai awaits your arrival. —Unified Lion Shrine Guide"

“Kansai… Nishiki-sama…” Mai-senpai’s pupils contracted slightly.

The new god of Kansai! He's here? He's actually extended his reach into the heart of Kanto, and ambushed her with such precision?

Just as her mind was slightly disturbed by this sudden information—

"boom!!!"

A muffled, destructive energy, unlike any of the previous attacks, came from the far, far distance above!
A specially made, large anti-magic bullet, engraved with special runes, struck her at the back of the head with incredible speed, precisely targeting her momentary "flaw"!
The bullet shattered her skull without any resistance.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The bullet pierced her from slightly to the right of her brow, instantly tearing through flesh and bone before exploding violently inside her skull! The immense kinetic energy ripped half of her face, along with her skull, off, and red and white matter splattered in a radial pattern onto the clean walls and floor of the balcony. Her once-renowned "national treasure" perfect face was instantly reduced to a bloody mess.

The headless corpse froze for a moment, then slumped forward, landing right in front of the note with the greeting written on it. Blood quickly spread, soaking the talisman.

Four hundred meters away, a sniper wearing a monocular scope calmly reported through an encrypted channel: "Target confirmed, cleared!"

On the rooftop, all was silent except for the mournful sound of the wind.

"So this is what they call the head priestess of the Kanto Shrine Alliance!"

(End of this chapter)